Every magazine cover must have certain elements, including:

• masthead
• main cover line
• main cover stars

These elements and several more (labelled below) create a magazine cover which appears professional and enticing to the public, two features which are essential to any magazine aspiring to be successful.

Labelled professional magazine cover

How will this affect my magazine?

When making my music magazine I have to be aware of all of the features that make a magazine intriguing, especially using lots of capital letters and pugs to engage the reader. Another component I need to be conscious about is colour scheme, a conventional magazine will only include about 2 or 3 colours other than black and white on their front cover. A small colour scheme makes a cover appear more cohesive and easier on the eye for the reader.

This research of an existing magazine will contribute to my design process by directing my magazine in the same direction as a professional one. This will include the size of the masthead compared to the rest of the writing (much larger) and how plugs and pugs can be placed effectively to interest the reader.